One Year Left To Make An Application Under The Same Roof Rule

Victims of violent crime who were previously denied compensation under the ‘same roof’ rule have less than one year to make fresh applications for financial redress.

What is the same roof rule?

The controversial same roof rule blocked victims who were living together with their attacker as members of the same family at the time of the assault from claiming compensation from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme.

It was changed in 1979 to enable future victims to access compensations, but not retrospectively, meaning victims from before that time were still refused awards.

Same roof rule abolished

After the Court of Appeal found the rule unlawfully discriminated against applicants, the government scrapped it on 13th June 2019 – and anyone previously denied compensation under the rule, or anyone who was previously ineligible to apply under the scheme because of it, may now make a fresh application to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA).

It is estimated that as many as 7,500 victims could apply for financial redress totalling up to £126 million, according to a Government impact assessment.

The same roof rule was deeply unfair and has caused significant injustice. Over the years, thousands of victims have had their applications for compensation refused – simply because they lived with their attacker at the time.

It massively disadvantaged child abuse victims who had no choice but to live under the same roof as their abuser and it has prevented the survivors from claiming compensation for decades.

CICA same roof rule applications

There is a two-year time limit on the applications – meaning victims have until 13th June 2021 to make a new or fresh application to the CICA. A dedicated team has been set up to provide extra support with the claims process, including a named contact to ensure applicants do not have to repeat their traumatic experiences to multiple people.

If you were the victim of a crime at the hands of someone you lived with between 1964 and 1979, you may now be eligible to make an application to the CICA due to the rule being scrapped. You must already have reported the assault to the Police.

While no amount of compensation can make up for the immense suffering caused by such appalling crimes, the abolition of the longstanding rule, which has caused significant injustice over the years, will bring much-needed relief to those who had previously been locked out of the system.